About The Bat Cave

Disclaimer

The concept of a disclosure page on my blog would have been unfathomable to me way back in 2003 (when this wee blog was born). Back then this all started as a personal sounding board, and through my affiliation with The Romance Reader, I started talking more and more about the books I read. Over the blogging years I've developed relationships, sometimes monetary, sometimes "just friendships" and in the sake of being as transparent as humanly possible - here it goes:

1) I am a member of Amazon Associates. What does this mean? Well, it means if you click on an Amazon link anywhere on this blog, then put said item in your shopping cart, and then purchase said item - I get a few pennies in return. I also use my Amazon Associates ID on my Upcoming Historical Romances wiki. If you don't want me to earn those pennies - don't buy via my links.

2) I do accept ARCs (Advanced Copies) of books from various publishers. I get the lion's share of these via online services like NetGalley because that makes life easier for me, but I also accept ARCs directly from authors and publicists. For any book I review that I received as an ARC I will include an "ARC Review" tag on those posts. Otherwise? I purchase books myself, pick them up at conferences I attend, or check them out from the library.

3) I occasionally post reviews at The Good, The Bad and The Unread, although not nearly as often as Sybil would like me to. I have no monetary ties to TGTBTU, but assume any book I review over there is an ARC.

4) From February 2011 to November 2017, I was a freelance blogger for Heroes And Heartbreakers, an online romance community, which is owned and operated by Macmillan Publishing. I was paid for my contributions. When Macmillan made the decision to shutdown the website and go solely to a newsletter/social media format, my relationship with them ended.

5) While I'm not currently providing content for them, I have, in the past, written and received monetary compensation from Criminal Element (also owned by Macmillan Publishing) andRT Daily Blog, which is part of the RT Book Reviews web site.

6) I have written a few non-fiction essays (currently unpublished). I am currently not pursuing fiction writing nor do I currently have aspirations to write fiction. Like a lot of readers I have plot bunnies, but unlike all authors, I currently lack the drive to do anything about them.

7) I'm casual acquaintances with a ton of authors, editors and publicists. Most of these folks know I'm a straight shooter. There are many authors I've been friendly with over the years who have gotten A grades from me, then the next book gets a D, and the world keeps on turning. I chalk this up to their professionalism and my perceived reputation - which is mostly good as far as I know.

When I feel those relationships go past acquaintance (for example, I'm friends with L.B. Gregg and I have a past working relationship with Megan Frampton through H&H) I will include a disclosure note prior to any review / blog mention.